Abstract
M.Ing. (Electrical Engineering)
This dissertation is intended to provide a better understanding of the importance of a lightning protection
risk assessment and lightning safety awareness. There is a decrease in lightning strike fatalities in recent
years for developing countries, but for less-developed countries, lightning fatalities remain a great concern.
The education of people concerning lightning and lightning safety must be a priority for government and
non-governmental organisations, especially with major projects moving to rural areas. This dissertation will
provide insight to lightning fatalities and methods to reduce the risk of being struck by lightning.
The research problem is defined as: Can the application of a lightning protection risk assessment reduce
the number of lightning related fatalities and should people be better informed and educated about
lightning?
A case study methodology is used in this dissertation. Two case studies were investigated to highlight the
importance of a lightning protection risk assessment and another case study was used to evaluate lightning
safety awareness education. The data for the lightning protection risk assessment was collected from
Medupi Power Station, situated in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Medupi Power Station will
experience about 5.5 lightning strikes per km2/year. The lightning safety awareness information was emailed
to all employees working on Medupi Power Station by the Health and Safety department.
Case study 1 evaluated the lightning safety awareness presentation for relevance, accuracy, simplicity,
misconceptions and completeness. In South Africa, there are different cultural beliefs and misconceptions
when it comes to lightning. The only way to address these different beliefs and misconceptions is to provide
relevant and accurate scientific data. Two important findings were that the lightning safety awareness
should include more practical information to where the employees and contractors find themselves, for
example on a construction site, and that this type of safety information should not be distributed via email,
but rather be part of the on-site induction that all employees must attend. The different cultural beliefs and
misconceptions should also be addressed by educational efforts.
Case study 2 and 3 made use of the national standard, SANS 62305-2:2011(Protection against lightning,
part 2, second edition, risk assessment) to evaluate the risk level for the loss of human life. The design
details for a permanent HV/LV substation and a temporary security cabin were used to calculate the risk
level for the loss of human life. In the case study for the HV/LV substation, the lightning protection risk
assessment indicated that no additional measures are required to reduce the risk level under a tolerable
risk value, due to the amount and number of preventative measures already installed. The building is a
permanent structure and includes a proper grounding and lightning protection system. Additionally to the
grounding and lightning system installed, are fire detection and fire protection equipment with multiple exit
routes to exit the substation in case of an emergency. In the case study for the temporary security cabin,
the lightning protection risk assessment indicated that additional lightning protection is required to reduce
the risk level, for the loss of human life, to a value below the tolerable risk value of 10-5. This is due to the
low voltage cable entering the temporary building. The addition of a surge protection device, used in the
calculations, improved the risk level to a value lower than the tolerable risk value. Standards and
procedures must be applied to all structures. A lightning risk assessment is thus required to ensure the risk
of a being strike by lightning are evaluated and mitigated to ensure the safety of people, no matter the type
and application of a building.
To conclude, a proper risk assessment must be done even if the structure in question is a temporary
installation or insignificant in the role it plays. The education of employees concerning the dangers of
lightning should be a high priority for companies and should be relevant to the environment they find
themselves in. Overall, the research indicates that more should be done to improve the educational level of...